WUNRN
Link to Full 53-Page 2013 Report:
Child, Early and Forced Marriage: A Multi-Country
Study
A Submission to the UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights
(OCHCR)
Women Living Under Muslim Laws
December 2013
Women
Living Under Muslim Laws
Email: wluml@wluml.org
Website: www.wluml.org
Table of Contents
Introduction/Summary............................................................................................................. 3
Chapter 1: General Overview of Forced And Early Marriage.......................................... 5
Part I: Definitions,
Conceptual Issues & Contexts........................................................... 5
1. Definitions and Conceptual Issues............................................................................................................... 5
2. Prevalence................................................................................................................................................................ 10
3. The Role and
Dimensions of Contexts................................................................................................... 10
Part II: Causes and
Consequences................................................................................... 12
1. Causes and Risk Factors.................................................................................................................................. 12
2. Impacts and
Consequences........................................................................................................................... 17
Chapter 2: Country-Specific Information About Forced And
Early Marriage........... 21
Introduction.......................................................................................................................... 21
I. Afghanistan........................................................................................................................ 21
II. Iran..................................................................................................................................... 25
III. Nigeria.............................................................................................................................. 28
IV. Pakistan............................................................................................................................ 32
V. Senegal............................................................................................................................... 34
VI. Sudan (North Sudan).................................................................................................... 36
Conclusions................................................................................................................................ 39
1. Main Points....................................................................................................................... 39
2. Challenges......................................................................................................................... 39
3. Recommendations for
Moving Forward on Forced Marriage............................... 41
Annex I: Forced
Marriage in International Human Rights Standards and Mechanisms.... 46
Section 1. Articles in
International Human Rights Treaties...................................... 46
Section 2. Regional
Human Rights Treaties and Mechanisms.................................. 50
Section 3. Reports and
Recommendations by International Treaty Bodies......... 51
...................................................................................................
In 2012, a
two-part study on the state of forced marriage was undertaken by Women Living
Under Muslim Laws (WLUML) for its program on culturally-justified violence
against women, supported by the Women’s Empowerment and Leadership Development
for Democratisation (WELDD) consortium. This report is the documentation of
that study and was subsequently revised as WLUML’s submission to the Office of
the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) for its report on preventing and
eliminating child, early and forced marriage.